No Spin News Special: One-On-One With "Broadway" Joe Namath

Namath details the extreme physical nature of the American Football League, where defensive players like Ben Davidson of the Raiders actively tried to 'debilitate the quarterback.' He recounts a specific incident where Davidson twisted his head and put a hand under his facemask, leading Namath to threaten violence. This highlights the stark contrast with modern NFL rules designed to protect players, particularly quarterbacks, from head and knee injuries.

Namath describes Ben Davidson twisting his head and putting a hand under his facemask, leading him to threaten, 'Man, you ever do that again, I'm going to get a gun. I'm going to shoot your wife, your children, and you.' He notes referees weren't like today, trying to protect quarterbacks, but acknowledges modern players 'protect one another when it comes to the head and the knee.'

Namath clarifies that his famous guarantee of victory over the Baltimore Colts was an impromptu, heated response to a heckler at a press event, not a calculated statement. This declaration, initially met with concern by his coach, served to galvanize his team and underscore their belief in their ability to win, despite being massive underdogs.

Namath states, 'I get up to the podium and a guy in the back of the room yells out, 'Hey Nameoth, we're going to kick your you know what.' And that just, you know, it was just, no, wait a minute. I've been hearing that all week long. I got news for you, buddy. We're going to win the game. I guarantee you.' He adds, 'I didn't care. It was a wise guy that yelled out.'

The Jets' top receiver, Don Maynard, played Super Bowl III with a leg injury, a fact unknown to the Baltimore Colts. The Colts' decision to double-team Maynard, despite his limited capacity, was a strategic advantage for the Jets, opening up opportunities for other receivers like George Sauer and Pete Lammons.

O'Reilly notes, 'your top receiver, Don Maynard... had a knee injury... nobody told anybody. Colts didn't know it and they were double teaming Maynard. He didn't catch a pass the whole game.' Namath confirms, 'He was not 100% of course, but they doubled him. And they didn't know that he wasn't 100%.'

Following their historic upset, very few Baltimore Colts players or coaches approached the victorious Jets to offer congratulations. This highlights the intense rivalry, the Colts' shock, and a different era of sportsmanship compared to today's ritualized post-game interactions.

O'Reilly asks, 'none of the Colts came over to congratulate you?' Namath responds, 'I don't know. I wasn't looking for him.' When pressed if anyone did, he recalls, 'I believe Ordell Bracy may have a linebacker... but they didn't come over in a mass congratulations. They were mad.' Namath adds, 'If I'd have lost, I don't think I'd go. You lose. You get out of there.'

Namath attributes his sustained mental acuity at age 82, in contrast to many of his contemporaries, to undergoing 120 hyperbaric oxygen dives starting in his 50s. He describes how scans showed dark spots in his brain, indicating poor blood flow, which lightened after the therapy.

Namath states, 'I was lucky... I was able to take 120 hyperbaric oxygen dives... I think that did a great deal for me. I have had some X-rays and scans done of my brain and there were dark spots where I wasn't getting a blood flow... After the first 40, we looked at him and the dark spots had lightened up a bit.'